My first thought was “Is this the WHOLE book?” Cause it seems to end at an unlikely spot in the narrative. Did we get 1/2 or 3/4?

Then I checked the Weber forums and it seems the book was cut in half – the sequel “Shadow of Freedom” may or may not already be completed, although a publishing date doesn’t appear to have been announced. ART is shorter than all but the first 5 books in the series and only 7% longer than books 6 and 7. It’s the shortest Honor book since 1995! And the ending had me flipping to the nonexistent next page, as if the MWW just quit writing at that point.

Here’s the number of pages of each book in the series, minus any afterwards, appendixes, or profiles of the author, as generated by my ebooks in Lit format using Microsoft Reader at medium font size. Your numbers will vary, but it gives a good idea of the relative length of each novel.

# Title # of pages 03 A Short Victorious War 547 04 Field of Dishonor 560 01 On Basilisk Station 628 02 The Honor of the Queen 651 05 Flag in Exile 668 13 A RISING THUNDER 764 06 Honor among Enemies 818 07 In Enemy Hands 819 09 Ashes of Victory 1082 12 Mission of Honor 1166 08 Echoes of Honor 1185 11 At all costs 1400 10 War of Honor 1552

7 of the last 8 books are 1100 pages or longer, and the page count is going up.

So instead of a book the size of “At All Costs” (Almost TWICE as long!) we’re getting two. While I have no complaint with the MWW making zillions and becoming filthy rich (hopefully NOT to the point that he no longer writes!) I’d prefer to get the whole story at once. It’s a marketing decision by Baen, who is of course our favorite publisher, has no DRM, and provides ebooks in almost every conceivable format and eARCs months in advance of the publishing date. Still, it’s an unpleasant surprise and I’m dying to know how long the wait for “Shadow of Freedom” will be!!!

Here I am complaining that we got the eARC a month before the snippets begin and 5 MONTHS before the publishing date! Thanks Baen! I just can’t help wishing it was at least 400 pages longer…

An eARC is an electronic Advance Reader Copy. This is an unproofed manuscript and is guaranteed to be full of typos and error. It is pretty much raw from the authors word processor. But you get the entire eARC well in advance of even the WebScription release.

Please do not send in typos and errors, we know the eARC is unproofed and the author doesn’t need to be inundated with “corrections”.

ARCs do not include the final proofed version. For the final version you would have to buy the single or monthly bundle for that book.

Imperfections and blemishes be damned! It was still a welcome dose of drug to temporarily cure my no new Honorverse withdrawl symptoms. Of course I will soon be throwing tantrums demanding the next book. Only hope I and David live long enough to finish the series. I am reminded of a story that really has no connection: some lady got a divorce from her husband for mental cruelty. She was a murder mystery fan and he delighted in writing the name of the culprit at the head of page one.

@11. Ed, we’re on the same page. Having an author DIE on you part way through a series is heart-wrenching – for his family of course, but also for his millions of readers.

When I heard Robert Jordan was dying I looked at my complete set of the “Wheel of Time” books and couldn’t believe I’d never find out how it ended. Fortunately Jordan knew he was dying and had time to select someone to finish his work. His replacement has continued with the plot he was given, spends less time describing what everyone is wearing, and almost never uses the line “She crossed her arms under her breasts!” (Jordan used that DOZENS of times in every book and it got really, really old…)

But Jordan had over a year knowing he was going to die in which to prepare another author to finish his series. If your favorite author dies suddenly, that’s the end. And the MWW isn’t getting any younger, nor am I. So to a degree our impatience is tinged with worry that we’ll NEVER get our greedy little mitts on the “next book,” no matter who the author or what the series may be. How many singers and rock stars have died with so many of their songs yet unsung?